Aurora's POV
After I finished the call, I felt a soft tug on my leg. Looking down, I saw Ayla clinging to me with her usual bright eyes.
"Mommy, I met Mister Panda today!"
I blinked. "What do you mean, Mister Panda?"
"He is the one who helped me in the park," she said excitedly, her small hands gripping my dress.
Realization dawned, I hadn't thanked him yet.
"Baby, where did you meet him?" I asked, crouching to her level.
"Why, Mommy?" She tilted her head.
"Mommy wants to thank him for helping you."
She pointed in the direction she had come from. I took her hand and followed her lead, weaving through the busy mall, but when we got there, he was gone. My heart sank a little. I hadn't even gotten his name, yet a stranger had helped my daughter, and I couldn't shake the feeling of wanting to repay that kindness.
Just then, Theodore came running, his face red with exertion.
"AYLA! Where were you? I was running through the entire mall looking for you!"
"WHAT?" I turned to him, my voice sharp.
He ran a hand through his messy hair, catching his breath. "She suddenly ran off, and I had a hard time chasing her!"
I turned to my daughter. "AYLA."
She shuddered at my tone. She knew it all too well...I was about to school her.
"What did I say?"
"Not to run around in unknown places without our own people," she whispered, avoiding my gaze.
"Why is that?"
"Because some bad uncles can hurt me." Her voice wavered, and her eyes brimmed with tears.
"So, you knew all this, yet you didn't listen to Mama's words, hmm?"
"Sowwy, Mommy, I will be a good girl." She pouted.
"Come on, she said sorry. Stop it, Roro," Theo interjected, shaking his head with a chuckle.
I shot him a look, but he and Ayla both had wide, pleading eyes, silently begging for mercy.
"FINE, FINE, you got me, but there is no next time!" I relented, shaking my head.
They both jumped and shouted, "YAY!"
I sighed. These two.
Then, shifting into work mode, I turned to Theo. "Out of the other companies reaching for the land, Drakos and another company are approaching us aggressively."
Theo narrowed his eyes. "You said Drakos?!"
"Yes. What about that?"
He hesitated. "No, nothing. Just out of curiosity."
I studied his face. He wasn't saying everything.
"And… you know how important that particular land is. It's no wonder they've set their sights on it."
"True. What about the other company?"
"It's AETOS."
"WHATTTT…?" Theo's face turned red.
"So, that bastard knows you are the CEO?" he asked, his voice laced with curiosity.
"At least, not yet." I smirked.
"I want to see his reaction when you meet face-to-face. Do you plan to give them the land?"
"NO, but I will have to pick the highest bidder. All I hope is that Drakos will be the one."
"Hmmmm…" He fell into deep thought, his expression unreadable.
"I need to go. Safe travels," I said.
"Bye-bye, Uncle! Get me some gifts!" Ayla chirped.
"Of course, baby," Theo said, giving a dramatic bow before walking away.
I had already called my nanny; she should have reached by now.
"Bye, baby. Mommy has some important things to do. Be a good girl," I said, dropping her off.
"Of course, Mommy! I pawmised you, Ayla will be a good girl!" She gave me a big smile.
I bid goodbye and headed to my office. Not only was AETOS a problem, but another headache was also waiting for me.
Susan's (Adkins Sales Director) POV
WOAHHH, I have seen many entitled people, but she tops them all.
When I received the mail and the proposal, I seriously thought someone competent would handle the project, but fate had other plans anddd... I ended up with Isabella Wilson.
We had already done our research. She was Mr. Wilson's daughter and the biggest headache in her office. And now, I had to handle this headache. I prayed to my gods to give me strength.
When she entered with her team, she immediately looked down on us. She scanned me up and down and said,
"See, you guys should be proud that we are giving you the opportunity to deal with us."
I fought the urge to roll my eyes.
She even asked one of her team members to do the presentation while she remained on her phone. Her entire team was struggling to answer our questions, constantly looking at her for help. But she didn't even glance at them. I wondered for a moment… was this proposal even hers? Did they even need this land or not? What kind of professionalism is that? Enough, I thought.
"Ms. Wilson, I know you look down on us, but at the same time, let me kindly remind you that you are bidding to purchase land from us. You know the seriousness of this project, and if things go wrong, you know the consequences."
She immediately put her phone down and glared at me.
"Excuse me? What do you mean?"
"You know exactly what I mean."
"How dare you talk to me like that? Do you know who I am?" she hissed, her eyes narrowing.
I smiled. "I am well aware of who you are. But right now, you are nothing but a representative from Drakos Corporation, a company known for professionalism. But I highly doubt that now."
"If you continue this condescending act, we will have no other choice but to escalate this to your superiors. At worst, we can cancel your proposal altogether."
She narrowed her eyes. If looks could kill, I would have turned to ashes.
"Hmphhh, fine… but I will remember this," she warned me.
If she couldn't handle me, there was no way she could handle our Madam. Just her presence alone would challenge Isabella. I smirked at the thought.
The rest of the meeting went smoothly, but I knew she would get back at me or Ms. Adkins for this. Still, if I let her behavior slide now, our team would struggle to handle her throughout this project.
The Worst is yet to come.